New midyear class joins the ranks of proud Brandeisians

About 130 students move in and begin orientation

The end of the week brought new beginnings for 130 midyear and transfer students who filled campus with energy and cheer Friday morning.

Orientation leaders eagerly helped the new undergraduates and their families unpack cars and carry loads of bedding, clothes and electronics up to their rooms at The Village. A week of orientation activities await them.

“It was really wonderfully done,” said Pat Bellmore of West Haven, Conn., whose daughter was moving in. “The kids were so great and everybody was very kind.”

In a welcome presentation in Levin Ballroom later in the day, President Fred Lawrence joked about the student volunteers’ exuberance.

“If you made the mistake of slowing your car down to 5 miles per hour, things started to disappear,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence told the midyear students that he had an affinity for them, having taken the helm of the university at about this time last year.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a midyear admit,” Lawrence said. “I made a decision very similar to yours. I assure you that I made the right decision in coming here and I assure you that you made the right decision in coming here.”

He reminded students that they are undergrads for the four years they are at Brandeis, but alumni forever – joining the ranks of Posse Foundation founder Debbie Bial, television writers and producers David Crane and Marta Kaufman, actress Debra Messing, authors Ha Jin and Thomas L. Friedman, and Bruce Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau, among many members of the Brandeis family.

“Right here, right now, on this campus, there is somebody who will change the way you look at the world,” Lawrence said, as the orientation leaders nodded.

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel told students that while colleges are generally where “birds of a feather flock together,” students here live in what is known as the “Brandeis Bubble” of diversity and acceptance.

“The Brandeis culture is incredibly accepting,” Flagel said. “Our students tend to compete with themselves instead of each other.”

Even so, there are times when a student might feel out of place among their ambitious classmates.

“If you ever run out of confidence in yourself, borrow some of mine, because I have more than enough for each one of you with a little left over,” Lawrence said.